The Great Franchisee: Darren Parzow, Chantilly, Virginia

Darren Parzow, franchise support manager for Maryland-based pizza chain Ledo Pizza, is making the switch to franchisee as he opens Virginia's first Hounds Town USA, an interactive doggie daycare franchise, in Chantilly, Virginia. After being laid off from the pizza restaurant franchise, Parzow decided he wanted to use his franchisor experience to take on a business that would benefit the community. As an owner of three rottweilers, Parzow’s dogs are often turned away by local dog boarders due to their breed. He was drawn to bringing a Hounds Town to the community as they do not discriminate against any breed of dog and have an understanding of the psychology of dogs.

1851 Franchise: Tell me your story – what did you do before franchising?

Darren Parzow: Prior to franchising, I was working for Ledo Pizza’s corporate office as a regional franchise support manager. I supported 27 Ledo Pizza locations, 22 in northern Virginia, three in D.C. and 2 in North Carolina. As a franchisor with Ledo, it solidified that we wanted to go the franchise route because of the structure and support you receive. I’ve been able to learn from franchisor mistakes and benefit from those experiences.

Prior to Ledo, I was a regional manager for “Check into Cash” which provides personal lines of credit and car title loans. I was unhappy there so I started looking for new opportunities, and while looking, I was eventually laid off in a company-wide layoff. Two days after being laid off I was called by Ledo’s because I have a restaurant background. My family owned bars and restaurants, which allowed me to work in nearly every position within a restaurant. I worked for mom and pop restaurants as everything from a  bartender, security, manager and cook. I also was a multi-unit manager for Buffalo Wild Wings and Chipotle restaurants. I also grew up going to the original Ledo Pizza and when I saw the position, I realized it would be a great option for me.

1851: How did you initially find out about franchising?

Parzow: I knew of franchising already, but I looked into it briefly to see what was out there. I thought for the longest time I would open a restaurant, but as I matured and grew up in the industry I decided there was no way I would open a restaurant. It’s too risky in my opinion. I knew that whatever business I did decided to open, it had to have a solid business plan. Hounds Town USA just fell in our lap as I found it through a Facebook ad.

1851: Why did you pick franchising over starting your own business?

Parzow: I chose franchising because of the support you get as a franchisee and the process that is already in place. The cliche is that they are a business with training wheels or the business on a silver platter. Everything is there, all you have to do is follow those processes and stick to their plan. I worked the opposite side of those plans with Ledo by making sure everyone follows the processes and stuck to the plan. Being able to see the opposite side, I know if I do the right things then I will be very successful.

1851: What types of brands did you look at?

Parzow: I did look at restaurant brands and the health industry. I used to be a certified personal trainer, so I thought about going back into the health field.

I didn’t explore many, but I looked at quite a few to see what they were about. At one point I looked at a pet store to try to get an idea of what it would be like. My family is a house of huge dog lovers, we have three rottweilers and we are big advocates for accepting all breeds. One of the big things that drew us to Hounds Town is the no breed discrimination. We’ve experienced that before by boarding companies for our rottweilers.

1851: Why did you pick Hounds Town USA? What excited you most about the potential?

Parzow: There were a lot of different things: the no breed discrimination, the Hounds Town USA CEO’s background and expertise with the dogs and the business model itself. I researched everything I could on Hounds Town USA and watched every video possible before I even proposed the idea to my wife. From there she decided we needed to look further. Usually, when I look at businesses I would find red flags or I would see repetitive negative comments. When I researched Hounds Town, it just kept getting better. It almost felt too good to be true. The more I researched, I decided it had to be factual from all the positive comments across the board. For every box we had, it was checked by Hounds Town.

I’m looking forward to being the first Hounds Town franchisee in Virginia. We wanted to have fun in our business and in this company we are going to have fun. We wanted to work with animals and have an avenue where we could give back to the community to work with shelters and rescues. We’ve already planned to start a foster program where we take in dogs and socialize them at our daycare. I know some other locations that are doing that and I knew that was something I wanted to do. We wanted to be able to have a positive impact on the community and living in Aldie, Virginia we want our location to be as close to our home as possible.

1851: What are your dreams with the business? What does the future look like?

Parzow: We dream of building some stability for our family. I know that my 14-year-old daughter is excited to have her first real job. It’s something that will be there for her if she wants to be part of it as she grows older. It’s also something we want to have and keep as a family business moving forward. Even at age 14 we ask her for input all the time because we know it will affect her eventually.

1851: What value do you see your business providing to the community?

Parzow: More than anything, the value for their dogs. We want to be able to help socialize dogs in the community. Most importantly, we want to be a place where a dog can be a dog. We also want to provide owners with peace of mind knowing that their dogs will be well cared for and loved, whether it is daycare or boarding.

1851: What advice would you have for others looking at buying a franchise?

Parzow: Do your due diligence and don’t jump to any conclusions. It’s good to make sure you are 100% invested in the field and brand you are looking in and do your homework on all of it. Make sure there are zero doubts before you sign on that dotted line.

1851: What do you do in your personal time?

Parzow: We used to be a darting family. In 2004, I was inducted as a player in the National Darts Hall of Fame and in 2010 my wife was inducted as well as a tournament director. My daughter was introduced to darts, but I have since retired from playing in tournaments. We kind of shifted our attention as darts used to be a part-time profession for our family, now it’s just a hobby. Now, I love listening to books while doing chores at home and driving. My wife reads avidly and our daughter Emma loves playing and listening to music. Emma plays three instruments. My wife has a degree in music education from LSU and is a certified federal professional contracts manager. She’ll continue doing that for a while while I work in the business full-time. She may eventually decide to work only in the family business or potentially open a consulting business on the side.